Happy Friday the 13th, all! Today I want to start a brand new series—if you could call it that—where I will recommend books and films from all the continents—excluding Antarctica, ’cause as far as I know, nobody publishes from there. I think I’d call this #LiteraturebyContinent, although I wouldn’t include it in the title, as it won’t fit. Basically, in each post, I will introduce you to 5 books and 5 films from each continent. I will try my best to find really good hidden gems and offer titles you might never have heard of before.
And, of course, as we know, each continent tends to contain quite a number of countries and nations within it—excluding Australia, I suppose—so I’ll try to offer diversity on that front as well. Seeing as I come from and live in Asia, I thought I would start with the largest continent on earth, with a wide variety of complex cultures and peoples.
Let me just give a disclaimer here: even though I am Asian and I do still reside in Asia, I am in no way an expert on Asia. I haven’t read all the books and watched all the films from all corners of the continent, so do forgive me if I may repeat recommendations from the same country and/or region. That being said, I hope these underrated titles will pique your interest.
Books
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Mohsin Hamid
Let’s start our journey in Pakistan, with a fiction uniquely written like a self-help book. Starting out with a young man, who lives in a slum in Pakistan, with a drive to become filthy rich—emphasis on the filthy—and move out of the slum. At first, it seems like a very seedy self-help scheme to be rich for the sake of being rich, but the story develops into something deeper and more profound as it progresses.
Aside from the writing, this book is also peculiar in its choice not to assign any names to any of the characters—referring to the main character simply as “you” and his love interest as a “pretty girl”—which immerses ourselves deeper into the story than otherwise.
The story also touches a little on religion, social class and culture—all aspects that middle-class people everywhere can relate to. I would highly recommend this book, as it will surprise you on so many turns!
Please Look After Mom
Shin Kyung-Sook
Moving on to South Korea, here comes one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve ever read. The story follows a family who frantically looks for their missing mother. No, she didn’t pack up her bag and leave. No, she wasn’t kidnapped. She was going to visit her children in the city, but never ended up arriving there at all. In the process of trying to figure out where she might have gone, her children and husband—and perhaps even grandchildren? I don’t really remember—rack their brains to find clues in any shred of memories they have of her. That’s when they realise more and more how little they care, respect or appreciate their currently missing mother.
Honestly, this book made me cry as it reminded me of my late mother—and how cruel I could be to her sometimes when she was still around. Not only is this book written beautifully, I guarantee it would make you want to, at least, call your parents.
Cantik Itu Luka (Beauty Is a Wound)
Eka Kurniawan
Welcome to Indonesia! It is hard for me to recommend Asian books without talking about my favourite genre: magical realism—and this one is a humdinger. Not unlike One Hundred Years of Solitude, this story spans decades and generations, which hooks us all the way in. The story centers around a beautiful mixed-race prostitute called Dewi Ayu, her three gorgeous daughters and one less-lucky one, as they are blighted by incest, murder, bestiality, rape, insanity, monstrosity, and the often vengeful undead—so yeah, there’s a lot to unpack there.
It opens up with the most intriguing first sentence, that shows its magical realistic nature straight away. Personally, I find it a true portrayal of how beauty, particularly in Indonesia, can both be a blessing and a curse. Fair trigger-warning, I must say, as a lot of the topics being explored here are incredibly sensitive—especially the rape, which happens often enough and told un-delicately at all.
Red Sorghum
Mo Yan
Let’s jump to China, for another dose of magical realism! This is the book I read only fairly recently—a few months ago, in fact. I grew interested in it, initially, because I was looking for more magical realistic books to read and this title came as a classic recommendation.
The story is told from a second-person point-of-view, namely the son or grandson of the main characters. It tells the life journey of Douguan and his father, Yu Zhan’ao, as they try to defend their little village from the Japanese—which includes the story of Douguan’s mother’s doomed courtship, how Yu Zhan’ao meets her and how they come to be where they are now.
It is told in a back-and-forth storyline that may be confusing, but everything will make sense at the end. I love that this book puts sorghum at the forefront of the setting—it being the main produce of the region—and uses it a lot as metaphors and silent witnesses to a lot of the action. It gives a unique touch to the book, only to be found in this region of China.
The Vegetarian
Han Kang
Going back to South Korea, we are met with an incredibly eccentric and haunting book, fitting for a short horror film. The story starts with a woman who one day, without warning, decides to become a vegetarian. She refuses to eat and cook meat, to the point that it frustrates her husband. He decides to call her whole family to try to talk some sense into her or get to the bottom of her abrupt decision. Her family also doesn’t understand what suddenly brings about this change and tries to force her to eat meat—which becomes a whole drama of its own.
But that is only the beginning of the woman’s unhinged behaviour that seems to only get worse. This book is probably not for everyone—it is steeped in metaphors and symbolism, that the meaning may not reveal itself at all—but it is definitely very eerie and worth a read.
Films
Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts)
dir. Mouly Surya
Indie darlings, assemble! Here comes a daring, unique film from Indonesia that dares to look into the way women are often treated in this nation—especially in rural areas. This film has even become the first Indonesian full-feature film to be shown in Cannes Film Festival in 12 years.
The story follows Marlina, a widower who lives alone in the rural village of Sumba, who one day receives an unknown guest with a plan to rape her and steal her livestock with his gang. In self-defense, Marlina resorts to murdering these men. Afterwards, she goes on a trip to the nearest police station to get justice for their crime against her. Eventually, the friends of Marlina’s murder victims find out and try to chase her down to avenge them.
Despite bringing up a very sensitive and violent topic, this film also shows the beautiful nature of Sumba through its panoramic cinematography. It also reveals a lot about the regional culture, through dialogues, costumes, transportation system and, sometimes, food. Pay attention to the way Novi and her husband treat each other—it speaks volumes about the Indonesian culture, seriously.
Happy Old Year
dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
For Marie Kondo fans, this film may bring about a darker side to decluttering. This Thai film brings a raw cut on how intimate and heartbreaking clearing up one’s space can be—especially if you carry so much emotional baggage with you. The story starts when Jean, an interior designer who recently came back from Sweden, decides to remodel the home she shares with her mother and brother to be more minimalistic.
The problem is their mother is a huge hoarder and refuses to give anything away, so Jean and Jay begin with their own things first. Along the way, Jean has to face difficult memories she may have had with old friends and boyfriend—who may not always be so forgiving—and even her estranged father.
If you think decluttering is as simple as considering what “sparks joy,” well, think again. Needless to say, this film requires tissue paper, as it might trigger your tears—honestly, it can be mentally hard to watch—but it teaches us that we will eventually have to face our ghosts.
Circumstance
dir. Maryam Kashavarz
When you think of Iranian films, you may never consider the LGBT theme, but here we are. I first found out this film as part of Sundance Film Festival 2011—and won the Dramatic Audience Award. This film follows two friends of two teenage girls, Shireen and Atafeh, who grow to fall in love with one another. The two grow more and more sexual with one another as they try to explore and discover their relationship.
However, their love is considered forbidden on this side of the world, especially with the Morality Police watching everyone’s every move. Needless to say, they have to keep it a secret, but it becomes harder and harder, especially with Arafeh’s own brother who becomes a radical and keep a close watch on his family.
For me, this film is one of the first introduction to the LGBT point-of-view being mixed with Islam—which has never truly been explored before. It did receive a lot of backlash about the inaccurate representation of Iran and its culture—what with the filmmaker being an expatriate—but, personally, I find it still so intriguing.
Dear Ex
dir. Mag Hsu, Chih-yen Hsu
Another LGBT representation alert! This time it comes from Taiwan and told from an entirely different point-of-view. The story follows the strange relationship between Song Chengxi, his mother and Jay, his late father’s male lover, when Chengxi decides to run away from his overbearing mother and live with Jay. His mother cannot accept this, as she is still very much hurt by the fact that her husband chose Jay over her, despite having been married for several years.
Eventually, though, she has to relent, as Chengxi gets to know Jay better—as reluctant and unmatched they were when it all started. Slowly but surely, we, too, start to see their altogether past unfold—including how and when the Song father met both his eventual wife and lover. This one is also a tearjerker, but also at the same time incredibly heartwarming. It also introduces nuance to sexuality as a whole.
A Brighter Summer Day
dir. Edward Yang
Saving the best for last, here is the most powerful film I’ve ever watched—and it’s also from Taiwan. I’ve talked about this film before, but I cannot not mention it again. Here’s how powerful it is: the film is 4-hours long and, by the end of it, I still feel like there should be more. Based on a true story, this film is set in 1960s Taiwan, as the country becomes the refuge for “Free China”—which contrasts the ruling “Communist China” at the time—and creates political turbulence, which affects teenagers as well.
The story follows the life of 14-year-old Xiao S’ir (Zhang Zen) as he starts to get involved with Ming (Liu Zhiming), who was allegedly in a relationship with the leader of one of two ruling youth gangs of the town. Eventually, S’ir, too—and his best friends, Wang Mao and Ji Fei—becomes more and more involved with the gangs themselves, as well as the politics, crime and violence they cause and uphold. Until all this conflict comes to a violent climax. This film is a true classic and I cannot recommend it enough! My life was forever changed for it.
I believe in the importance of reading and watching diversely. There’s beauty in learning about other culture and their way of life. Asia is a good place to start, as it is the biggest continent on earth with a mix of nations and varying cultures. If you go to Japan, for instance, and then move on to India, Indonesia and Iran, you will be exposed to four very different traditions and customs—which is what makes books and films from the continents very interestingly diverse.
Two decades or so ago, it may be very hard to get a hold of literary media from several Asian countries—like Kazakhstan or Mongolia, per se—but, thanks to the power of the internet, today these things are far more easily accessible for pretty much everyone in the modern world. If you’re looking for foreign films, I would recommend going to Netflix or Shudder. They have a great range of diverse films from all around the world, but especially Asia.
Any books or films from Asia you’ve been loving lately?
Happy Friday the 13th, all! Today I want to start a brand new series—if you could call it that—where I will recommend books and films from all the continents—excluding Antarctica, ’cause as far as I know, nobody publishes from there. I think I’d call this #LiteraturebyContinent, although I wouldn’t include it in the title, as it won’t fit. Basically, in each post, I will introduce you to 5 books and 5 films from each continent. I will try my best to find really good hidden gems and offer titles you might never have heard of before.
And, of course, as we know, each continent tends to contain quite a number of countries and nations within it—excluding Australia, I suppose—so I’ll try to offer diversity on that front as well. Seeing as I come from and live in Asia, I thought I would start with the largest continent on earth, with a wide variety of complex cultures and peoples.
Let me just give a disclaimer here: even though I am Asian and I do still reside in Asia, I am in no way an expert on Asia. I haven’t read all the books and watched all the films from all corners of the continent, so do forgive me if I may repeat recommendations from the same country and/or region. That being said, I hope these underrated titles will pique your interest.
Books
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Mohsin Hamid
Let’s start our journey in Pakistan, with a fiction uniquely written like a self-help book. Starting out with a young man, who lives in a slum in Pakistan, with a drive to become filthy rich—emphasis on the filthy—and move out of the slum. At first, it seems like a very seedy self-help scheme to be rich for the sake of being rich, but the story develops into something deeper and more profound as it progresses.
Aside from the writing, this book is also peculiar in its choice not to assign any names to any of the characters—referring to the main character simply as “you” and his love interest as a “pretty girl”—which immerses ourselves deeper into the story than otherwise.
The story also touches a little on religion, social class and culture—all aspects that middle-class people everywhere can relate to. I would highly recommend this book, as it will surprise you on so many turns!
Please Look After Mom
Shin Kyung-Sook
Moving on to South Korea, here comes one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve ever read. The story follows a family who frantically looks for their missing mother. No, she didn’t pack up her bag and leave. No, she wasn’t kidnapped. She was going to visit her children in the city, but never ended up arriving there at all. In the process of trying to figure out where she might have gone, her children and husband—and perhaps even grandchildren? I don’t really remember—rack their brains to find clues in any shred of memories they have of her. That’s when they realise more and more how little they care, respect or appreciate their currently missing mother.
Honestly, this book made me cry as it reminded me of my late mother—and how cruel I could be to her sometimes when she was still around. Not only is this book written beautifully, I guarantee it would make you want to, at least, call your parents.
Cantik Itu Luka (Beauty Is a Wound)
Eka Kurniawan
Welcome to Indonesia! It is hard for me to recommend Asian books without talking about my favourite genre: magical realism—and this one is a humdinger. Not unlike One Hundred Years of Solitude, this story spans decades and generations, which hooks us all the way in. The story centers around a beautiful mixed-race prostitute called Dewi Ayu, her three gorgeous daughters and one less-lucky one, as they are blighted by incest, murder, bestiality, rape, insanity, monstrosity, and the often vengeful undead—so yeah, there’s a lot to unpack there.
It opens up with the most intriguing first sentence, that shows its magical realistic nature straight away. Personally, I find it a true portrayal of how beauty, particularly in Indonesia, can both be a blessing and a curse. Fair trigger-warning, I must say, as a lot of the topics being explored here are incredibly sensitive—especially the rape, which happens often enough and told un-delicately at all.
Red Sorghum
Mo Yan
Let’s jump to China, for another dose of magical realism! This is the book I read only fairly recently—a few months ago, in fact. I grew interested in it, initially, because I was looking for more magical realistic books to read and this title came as a classic recommendation.
The story is told from a second-person point-of-view, namely the son or grandson of the main characters. It tells the life journey of Douguan and his father, Yu Zhan’ao, as they try to defend their little village from the Japanese—which includes the story of Douguan’s mother’s doomed courtship, how Yu Zhan’ao meets her and how they come to be where they are now.
It is told in a back-and-forth storyline that may be confusing, but everything will make sense at the end. I love that this book puts sorghum at the forefront of the setting—it being the main produce of the region—and uses it a lot as metaphors and silent witnesses to a lot of the action. It gives a unique touch to the book, only to be found in this region of China.
The Vegetarian
Han Kang
Going back to South Korea, we are met with an incredibly eccentric and haunting book, fitting for a short horror film. The story starts with a woman who one day, without warning, decides to become a vegetarian. She refuses to eat and cook meat, to the point that it frustrates her husband. He decides to call her whole family to try to talk some sense into her or get to the bottom of her abrupt decision. Her family also doesn’t understand what suddenly brings about this change and tries to force her to eat meat—which becomes a whole drama of its own.
But that is only the beginning of the woman’s unhinged behaviour that seems to only get worse. This book is probably not for everyone—it is steeped in metaphors and symbolism, that the meaning may not reveal itself at all—but it is definitely very eerie and worth a read.
Films
Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts)
dir. Mouly Surya
Indie darlings, assemble! Here comes a daring, unique film from Indonesia that dares to look into the way women are often treated in this nation—especially in rural areas. This film has even become the first Indonesian full-feature film to be shown in Cannes Film Festival in 12 years.
The story follows Marlina, a widower who lives alone in the rural village of Sumba, who one day receives an unknown guest with a plan to rape her and steal her livestock with his gang. In self-defense, Marlina resorts to murdering these men. Afterwards, she goes on a trip to the nearest police station to get justice for their crime against her. Eventually, the friends of Marlina’s murder victims find out and try to chase her down to avenge them.
Despite bringing up a very sensitive and violent topic, this film also shows the beautiful nature of Sumba through its panoramic cinematography. It also reveals a lot about the regional culture, through dialogues, costumes, transportation system and, sometimes, food. Pay attention to the way Novi and her husband treat each other—it speaks volumes about the Indonesian culture, seriously.
Happy Old Year
dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
For Marie Kondo fans, this film may bring about a darker side to decluttering. This Thai film brings a raw cut on how intimate and heartbreaking clearing up one’s space can be—especially if you carry so much emotional baggage with you. The story starts when Jean, an interior designer who recently came back from Sweden, decides to remodel the home she shares with her mother and brother to be more minimalistic.
The problem is their mother is a huge hoarder and refuses to give anything away, so Jean and Jay begin with their own things first. Along the way, Jean has to face difficult memories she may have had with old friends and boyfriend—who may not always be so forgiving—and even her estranged father.
If you think decluttering is as simple as considering what “sparks joy,” well, think again. Needless to say, this film requires tissue paper, as it might trigger your tears—honestly, it can be mentally hard to watch—but it teaches us that we will eventually have to face our ghosts.
Circumstance
dir. Maryam Kashavarz
When you think of Iranian films, you may never consider the LGBT theme, but here we are. I first found out this film as part of Sundance Film Festival 2011—and won the Dramatic Audience Award. This film follows two friends of two teenage girls, Shireen and Atafeh, who grow to fall in love with one another. The two grow more and more sexual with one another as they try to explore and discover their relationship.
However, their love is considered forbidden on this side of the world, especially with the Morality Police watching everyone’s every move. Needless to say, they have to keep it a secret, but it becomes harder and harder, especially with Arafeh’s own brother who becomes a radical and keep a close watch on his family.
For me, this film is one of the first introduction to the LGBT point-of-view being mixed with Islam—which has never truly been explored before. It did receive a lot of backlash about the inaccurate representation of Iran and its culture—what with the filmmaker being an expatriate—but, personally, I find it still so intriguing.
Dear Ex
dir. Mag Hsu, Chih-yen Hsu
Another LGBT representation alert! This time it comes from Taiwan and told from an entirely different point-of-view. The story follows the strange relationship between Song Chengxi, his mother and Jay, his late father’s male lover, when Chengxi decides to run away from his overbearing mother and live with Jay. His mother cannot accept this, as she is still very much hurt by the fact that her husband chose Jay over her, despite having been married for several years.
Eventually, though, she has to relent, as Chengxi gets to know Jay better—as reluctant and unmatched they were when it all started. Slowly but surely, we, too, start to see their altogether past unfold—including how and when the Song father met both his eventual wife and lover. This one is also a tearjerker, but also at the same time incredibly heartwarming. It also introduces nuance to sexuality as a whole.
A Brighter Summer Day
dir. Edward Yang
Saving the best for last, here is the most powerful film I’ve ever watched—and it’s also from Taiwan. I’ve talked about this film before, but I cannot not mention it again. Here’s how powerful it is: the film is 4-hours long and, by the end of it, I still feel like there should be more. Based on a true story, this film is set in 1960s Taiwan, as the country becomes the refuge for “Free China”—which contrasts the ruling “Communist China” at the time—and creates political turbulence, which affects teenagers as well.
The story follows the life of 14-year-old Xiao S’ir (Zhang Zen) as he starts to get involved with Ming (Liu Zhiming), who was allegedly in a relationship with the leader of one of two ruling youth gangs of the town. Eventually, S’ir, too—and his best friends, Wang Mao and Ji Fei—becomes more and more involved with the gangs themselves, as well as the politics, crime and violence they cause and uphold. Until all this conflict comes to a violent climax. This film is a true classic and I cannot recommend it enough! My life was forever changed for it.
I believe in the importance of reading and watching diversely. There’s beauty in learning about other culture and their way of life. Asia is a good place to start, as it is the biggest continent on earth with a mix of nations and varying cultures. If you go to Japan, for instance, and then move on to India, Indonesia and Iran, you will be exposed to four very different traditions and customs—which is what makes books and films from the continents very interestingly diverse.
Two decades or so ago, it may be very hard to get a hold of literary media from several Asian countries—like Kazakhstan or Mongolia, per se—but, thanks to the power of the internet, today these things are far more easily accessible for pretty much everyone in the modern world. If you’re looking for foreign films, I would recommend going to Netflix or Shudder. They have a great range of diverse films from all around the world, but especially Asia.
Any books or films from Asia you’ve been loving lately?